The invention relates to a method of driving mine vehicles in a mine, the method comprising: assembling mine vehicles into a convoy comprising a plurality of mine vehicles in succession with no mechanical connection therebetween; driving each mine vehicle in the convoy by means of control means provided in each vehicle; appointing one of the mine vehicles in the convoy as a master vehicle and the rest of the mine vehicles in the convoy as slave vehicles; driving the master vehicle in the convoy manually, controlled by an operator; controlling the slave vehicles in the convoy automatically on the basis of a route traveled by the master vehicle; and monitoring the distance between two successive vehicles and adjusting the travelling speed of the vehicles in order to prevent collisions.
The invention further relates to a transport system for mines, comprising: at least one convoy comprising a plurality of mine vehicles arranged in succession with no mechanical connection therebetween; control means in each mine vehicle for driving the vehicles independently, controlled by an operator and by a control unit of the mine vehicle; at least one control unit for the transport system; at least one data communications link between the control units; and wherein as a first vehicle in the convoy, a master vehicle is provided which is arranged to be driven manually, controlled by the operator; and further, wherein slave vehicles behind the master vehicle are arranged to follow a route taken by the master vehicle, automatically and controlled by the control unit; the transport system comprising at least a first working area and a second working area as well as a route therebetween.
Various vehicles may be transferred from one place to another by driving them in convoy, i.e. as in a line comprising a plurality of vehicles in succession. If only one route is used for the convoy to travel back and forth, it is necessary to be able to change the direction of travel of the convoy. In such a case, a turning place has to be provided wherein the convoy can turn around in order to change its direction of travel. Alternatively, each vehicle in the convoy has to be drivable in two directions. Excavating such turning places e.g. in underground mines incurs considerable additional costs. Furthermore, two-way vehicles are more complex and expensive than one-way vehicles. In view of the aforementioned limitations, driving in convoys is difficult to apply to mines.